


The Apple of My Eye

by cl0ckst0pper



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, bede and gloria are best friends they wingman for one another dont get it twisted, no one in this fic is straight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21922426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cl0ckst0pper/pseuds/cl0ckst0pper
Summary: There's a rumor that if you give the one you like an Applin, you'll be together forever.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Masaru | Victor, Mary | Marnie/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 11
Kudos: 197





	1. Go for it, Hop!

“You caught it in a love ball, too? Geez, Hop, you really have it bad…”

“I KNOW!!!” 

Hop rests his head down on the table, defeated. The Applin in front of him squeaks curiously and rolls towards him, gently bumping his head.

“Sonia… I really like him…”

“I know.”

“I mean I really, really, REALLY like him.”

“I’m aware.”

“Sonia… I-“

She huffs and slams her hands on the table.

“Hop, if we keep going on like this, you’ll confess to him when you’re both 70 and retired.”

Hop lifts his head up a bit, just to look at his gift in the eyes. The Applin chirps happily, as if it was encouraging him to just do it. 

He sighs.

It was supposed to be easy. After hearing rumors of the good fortunes Applins bring to relationships, he knew he had the perfect way to confess. All he had to do was go up to Victor and tell him how he felt while giving him the Applin. Simple when put on paper, but impossible in practice. 

Everything related to Victor just seemed impossible.

Hop knew he had a crush on Victor ever since they were little. He just never really realized it until the gym challenge. 

It started out as a simple crush. The usual “Oh, his hair is kinda cute today” and, “His laugh is really nice” eventually became Hop staring proudly at his rival after his win during the finals and him staring back. As if the entire stadium—no, the entire world—just fell away. The screams and cheers of the crowd were deafening then, but the way that Hop’s heart beat at that moment was louder than twenty stadiums combined.

He had it bad and he knew it.

It wasn’t his fault that Victor was the sweetest, most kind and considerate person he’s ever met. It wasn’t his fault that Victor just knew how to make Hop smile. And it certainly wasn’t his fault that Victor was really cute.

That’s it, he made up his mind. It was now or never.

He stood up suddenly, surprising both Sonia and the Applin.

“I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna go do it right now! This very second! I’m going!”

“Hop, you aren’t moving.”

“...A couple more seconds then!”

Sonia simply facepalmed in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally supposed to be a short fic about the applin rumor but i got. very carried away
> 
> the next chapter is way longer than this one get ready


	2. Pure of Heart, Dumb of Ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's like 10x longer than the last and i have no regrets merry crisis

**hop!** _Sent at 1:45PM_

hey vic! mind meeting me at motostoke when ur free? it’s not an emergency or anything so take ur time (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b

Victor rushed to Motostoke as soon as he could. Ever since becoming champion, he’s been a little busier than usual. It’s definitely not as bad as when Leon was champion, though. He remembers Hop complaining about how he’d rarely get to see his brother when they were younger. He’s pretty sure that it was due to the difference between Leon and Rose’s way of dealing with emergency situations. Leon firmly believes that sending someone as young as Victor to handle things that “grown ups” should be handling isn’t the way to go. Rose believed the complete opposite.

He’s pretty sure this line of thinking comes from Rose sending Leon out to handle almost everything by himself when he was around Victor’s age.

He hums at the memory of defeating Rose in battle without so much as breaking a sweat. 

He called for a flying taxi from Wyndon and the flight from their to Motostoke usually took about 10 minutes. He took out his phone and opened his text messages to his sister. Eh, he had time to kill.

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:14PM_

Hey Gloria, what’s up?

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:15PM_

vic!!! are u finally out of ur meeting with leon?

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:15PM_

Yeah. It only took so long because he insists on having a battle every time we have a meeting. Lol

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:15PM_

u whoop his ass?

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:15PM_

Yep.

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:16PM_

hell yeah B)

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:16PM_

What are you doing right now? I’m heading to Motostoke to meet up with Hop but I was thinking that we could hang out a bit afterwards.

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:16PM_

im out with bede rn! he’s helping me pick out clothes to wear for my date with marnie later^^

did u know that he’s really into fashion? it’s kinda scary actually he started talking about different fabrics and necklines and i blanked out immediately lol

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:17PM_

That’s kind of hard to believe after seeing him wear that oversized jacket all the time. Lol

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:17PM_

RIGHT?? 

i said that too and he was like “It’s partially because of Ms. Opal. She was quite influential to the fashion industry when she was younger.”

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:17PM_

You even typed like him…

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:17PM_

thanks! he hates it when i do that but i do it a lot just cos its funny B)

anyways im free to meet up after this! we’re paying now so ill see you in motostoke^^

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:18PM_

Sounds good! See you then.

 **the cooler twin** ✨ _Sent at 2:18PM_

ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ

✨ **the nicer twin** _Sent at 2:18PM_

^u^

Victor smiled to himself. He was glad that Bede and his sister became friends. Back when they were all still doing the gym challenge he could've sworn they considered one another mortal enemies. Hell, when they were in the same room the tension could practically be cut with a knife.

He was pretty sure it was the battle between Bede and Hop that made Gloria so mad. Gloria cared a lot about Hop. She considered him her best friend—aside from Victor, of course—and Hop was the same. Seeing Hop fall into such a slump after his loss against Bede more than just upset her. She made sure to wipe the floor with the poor guy during every battle they had. It was kind of scary, to see his usual happy, encouraging sister turn into an unstoppable monster at just the mention of Bede. 

Victor thought about the two for a bit. He didn’t remember when exactly they had become friends but if they were getting along now he won’t complain. He liked Bede. Sure, he was a complete asshole when they first met, but after he and Hop made up, they all made it a point to hang out more. Well, Hop did. Bede had little to no other friends so he would come along reluctantly, and Victor was always willing to join. 

He treasured those small moments.

“We’re here!” The taxi flier called.

They landed just in front of the Pokémon center. Victor thanked the man and his Corviknight and started towards the spot Hop wanted to meet up at. He took in the familiar sights and sounds of Motostoke; the loud yet comforting whistles and bangs from the machines all around the city were jarring to Victor when he had first arrived. Postwick was a quiet town, he rarely left to go anywhere else growing up. 

Things were different now. The sights and sounds of Galar had grown on him during his travels, and he couldn’t imagine going back to the serene and secluded life he once lived. 

He made his way down the stairs near the riverbank and saw Hop at the end. He was wearing the new lab coat Sonia and Leon gave to him as a gift. It fit him perfectly. He was on his phone and leaning against the wall, oblivious to the young champion's watchful gaze. 

“Hey, Hop!” 

This visibly startled the poor boy. He quickly stood up straight and he, if it weren’t for the Rotom phone being able to float, would have probably dropped it in the river. 

Hop wasn’t usually this tense about anything. If something was really bothering him, he wouldn’t hesitate to talk to Victor or Gloria about it. Victor hated it when Hop kept things to himself. He thought they had moved past keeping secrets—that he’d be more open to express himself after he and Hop had talked through his insecurities during the time they spent together during. It hurt Victor to see his friend beat himself up, and it especially hurt when he realized he failed to notice his friend struggling.

He wouldn't let that happen again. Not on his watch.

Hop walked up to Victor, arms outstretched. “H-hey Vic! Long time no see.” 

Victor happily took the offer of a hug and made a mental note of how fast he could feel Hop’s heart beating.

“Are you okay? Did something happen?” He asked, cautiously. The last thing he wanted to do was make Hop stress out more. 

“I’m great—never been better!”

Victor stared, unimpressed.

Hop stared down at the ground, deeming that the stone beneath his feet was much more interesting than the attempt at conversation they were having.

Victor sighed and crossed his arms. “Hop… you know you can talk to me, right? Whatever’s got you so tense, we can work through it together.” 

Hop looked up at him. He was shaking now. Arceus, did he somehow make things worse?

He spoke more gently this time, “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk now. We can-“

“Do you wanna have a battle?”

Silence fell between the two of them as Victor stared at his rival, who was now face-palming himself (probably for his strange outburst). 

“Uh… sure? If that’s what you want, then yeah.”

“G-great!" He fumbled for his bag, "Let’s get started!”

Hop sent out his Dubwool, who turned to look at its trainer and let out a “baa” that sounded strangely like a laugh. Victor chuckled at the display. 

Hop pouted at this. “Hey! Less laughing, more battling!”

Victor sent out his Corviknight, whom of which took out the opposing trainer’s Dubwool with ease. It puffed out its chest defiantly. 

“Augh, your Corviknight always manages to get the jump on me… well, I’ve been training mine just as much!”

When he sent out his Corviknight, however, it looked completely uninterested in the battle at hand. It cried something out to Victor’s Corviknight, who went and sat right in front of it. They seemed to be having a conversation, one that must’ve been hilarious enough to warrant the both of them cawing up a storm and throwing the battle to watch and converse more from the sidelines.

It was a rather unusual sight to see.

Hop and Victor stared at one another in shock. The lab assistant tried his best to call back his Corviknight but it stayed firmly in place, failing to acknowledge its trainer's woe. Victor watched on, his laughs growing louder and louder.

The champion wiped a tear from his eye. “Hey, Hop, how come your team isn’t-“

“Don’t worry about it! This next one will take this seriously for sure!”

Contrary to Hop’s word, his Pincurchin took three whole seconds to assess the situation and immediately retreated back into its ball.

Hop looked about ready to cry.

“Uh, Hop-“

“Nope! This one’s the one for sure!”

Snorlax somehow fell asleep immediately.

The two Corviknights’ cawing laughter grew louder.

“Hop, I don’t think-“

“No no, wait! This one, I can guarantee that this one will pull through for sure!”

He sent out his Rillaboom. It turned to its trainer with a look of confusion, only to be met back with a look of desperation. It sighed and reluctantly took a battle ready stance; Hop pumped his fist in the air with delight. 

“New rules, Vic! A one on one battle, better make your next switch-in count!”

Victor nodded and sent out his Inteleon without hesitation. He knew he was at a type disadvantage, but he had full faith in his partner and he knew it had full faith in him. He also knew that Hop and his Rillaboom were the same, this next battle was going to be interesting. 

“Rillaboom, use Drum Beating!”

The Rillaboom readied its drum and swung its arm back. 

Fortunately, Victor and Inteleon were fast. “Inteleon, quick—Snipe Shot!”

Victor’s Inteleon hit without hesitation, causing Hop’s Rillaboom to flinch from the surprise attack. This was their chance!

“Nice, go in with an Acrobatics next!” 

It sprung up into the air with a flourish and began to dive towards the other Pokémon. Unfortunately for Victor, Hop was a pro at battling and his Rillaboom was quick to recover from their earlier attack.

“Counter it with a Knock Off!”

The Inteleon was able to land part of its attack on Rillaboom, but it managed to take most of the hit head on. It swung sideways at Victor’s Pokémon, landing a critical hit to its right side and sending it flying towards the neighboring river. 

“Now’s our chance, Rillaboom! Drum Beating again!”

Once more, the opposing Pokémon whipped out its drum and readied its swing. This is it—the final nail in the coffin, about to be slammed in by the wooden drumsticks of this fierce Rillaboom. 

Luckily, Victor was just as much of a pro at battling and his Inteleon was just as quick to recover.

“Not if we have anything to say about it! Inteleon, Ice Beam!”

Inteleon opened its eyes and took aim, a beam of pure frost erupting from its outstretched fingers. The aggressive beating of Hop’s Rillaboom grew, causing vines to fly towards Victor’s own Pokémon. The Ice Beam hit their opponent square in the face, causing it to stumble back and cease its rhythmic drumming. 

That critical hit didn’t come without consequence, however. Rillaboom’s Drum Beating followed through and hit Inteleon right in its chest.

Both Pokémon fell to the ground, unable to battle. This match was a tie.

Both trainers let out a triumphant laugh before going forward to heal up their Pokémon. This wasn’t the first time they’ve tied. The first time was right after Victor had gotten his first Pokémon. He was late to pick starters with Gloria and Hop and ended up getting Sobble. He didn’t mind this at all, and now he couldn’t imagine having any other partner. Hop had challenged him back then; he lost to Gloria beforehand and wanted to prove himself. Victor wasn’t as interested in battling as his sister or Hop at the time, but it was hard to not get immersed in the heat of battle. 

Victor started strong; his Sobble managed to chip away enough damage on Hop’s Wooloo before it could do any serious harm to the little amphibian. It was his Grookey that Victor was worried about. He studied up on type advantages and disadvantages a bit beforehand, as per Hop’s advice, and knew grass and water didn’t mix well. He didn’t let this sway him, however, and decided that no matter the outcome, he’d be proud of his new partner.

It was funny now that he thought about it. Their first battle ended the same way as their most recent one. Both of their Pokémon landed the final hit on one another and the match had ended in a tie. They both shared a laugh then, much like the one they had shared just now. It was nostalgic. 

It was nice.

Victor and Hop returned all of their Pokémon (except for Hop's Rillaboom, who refused to go back into its ball) and it seemed like his tension flooded back all at once. He turned to Victor, stiffly.

“Good match—just like old times, huh mate?” He said, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure me and Inteleon pulled through in the end, though. If we just recorded the match we could rewind and see who went down first.” 

Hop rolled his eyes and lightly punched Victor in the arm. The other trainer responded with a chuckle and lightly shoved him back. 

They fell into a comfortable silence after that. Well, it would have been comfortable if Hop’s Rillaboom didn’t keep poking him in the back with its drumsticks. He turned to the Pokémon with a sour expression, and it looked back at him with a sour expression of its own. They stared at one another for a good minute before Hop eventually gave in, turned back to Victor, and sighed.

“Hey… Vic— There’s something I want to give you.”

He reached into his back and pulled out a Pokéball—a Love Ball, more specifically. He then sent out a small, bright red and round Applin, who greeted Victor with a small, happy chirp. It immediately jumped into Victor’s arms and nuzzled against his chest. It sighed contently.

“Aw! It’s so cute… why are you giving it to me, though? I didn’t think we were trading Pokémon so I don’t have anything to give you… Is it for research or something?”

Hop stared at Victor, dumbfounded. His Rillaboom was off to the side, trying extremely hard to stifle its own laughter.

“I… Vic, you know what it means when someone gives you an Applin, right?”

The trainer in question tilted his head to the side slightly. “No? Is there supposed to be any special meaning?”

Hop froze.

“Well, I… I-”

“Viiiiiiiiiiictoooooooor!!!!”

Victor’s new Applin managed to jump out of his arms just before a small gray blur seemingly came out of nowhere and tackled the champion to the ground. 

“Vic you HAVE to see the new outfits Bede helped me pick out earlier they’re really cute and I absolutely need your help in picking out which one’s best to wear for my date later!”

As if on cue, the new fairy type gym leader walked in on the scene. “I already gave her my opinion, but she insisted on getting your approval first. Though, I have no idea why. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything else but that tacky red polo and dull, grey beanie. Not to mention your pants. Why you have a plaid pattern covering your… behind—is beyond me.” 

Gloria’s eyes twinkled, a look Victor knew only meant one thing: mischief.

She jumped off her startled brother and stood straight to meet Bede’s eyes, grinning wide.“Wow, Bede, how come you’re staring at my brother’s ass? See something you like?”

The poor guy turned a bright shade of red in response. Could this have been the “pink” that Opal was talking about before?

“N-NO! I WAS JUST-”

The two of them proceeded to bicker while Victor slowly got up and moved closer to Hop, who seemed visibly more relaxed than before. This changed quickly, however, once the little round Applin rolled to sit firmly by Victor’s side. He chuckled lightly and picked it up, to which it responded by nuzzling his chest in appreciation. 

He looked down on the newest addition to his team and turned to Hop. “Are you sure you want me to have it? It feels wrong to not give you anything in return…” 

Hop whipped his head around, making eye contact with his rival. Victor noted how nervous he looked in that moment. His Rillaboom nudged his side, staring at its trainer expectedly.

“Of course! Look how much it likes you already. I’d feel bad for taking it back now.”

Victor raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. “If you say so. I’ll make sure to take good care of it then.”

Hop smiled warmly at this. “I know you will.”

Gloria suddenly appeared at Victor’s side. It seems that whatever she and Bede were bickering about was interrupted by a passing fan of the new gym leader. “Hey, Hop! How goes it?”

“Fine. How about you?”

“Ugh, awful! Hanging out with Bede for more than 10 minutes is always a trial.”

A faint “Hey, I heard that!” could be heard from a little ways away from where they were all standing. She chuckled at the response.

“But no, seriously, I’m doing great. What were you two doing down here anyways?”

“We were just battling and catching up a bit,” Victor responded. “Oh, and look at what Hop gave me!”

He shifted around a bit so that Gloria could see his new Applin. She stared at it, dumbfounded. Hop turned away, noting that the way that the bricks on the wall were aligned was way more interesting than the conversation at hand. 

As if things couldn’t get even more awkward and embarrassing for the poor lab assistant, Victor brought out its Pokéball. “Oh, and look! He caught it in a love ball too, isn’t that adorable? It fits it so well.” 

Hop turned slightly, only to see that Gloria was staring directly at him with that same look of mischief she had in her eyes earlier. Uh Oh.

He quickly returned his Rillaboom back into its Pokéball and started to make his way towards the stairs. “H-Hey! I just remembered that I was supposed to run an errand for Sonia before I made my way back to the lab, so I’m gonna go now. Good battle, Vic! See you guys later-”

Before he could take another step forward, Gloria grabbed him by the sleeve. He looked down at her in shock, but all that was on her face was a grin that spread from ear to ear. He gulped.

“We’re talking about this later, ok?” She said in that scarily sweet tone she only used when she intended on meddling with something.

“Y-yeah. Ok. Bye now!” Once he got his arm free, he sprinted up the stairs, passing by a confused and worried Bede. The boy turned to look at Gloria and pointed in the direction Hop went. She shook her head and smiled, “I’ll tell you later.”

He just shrugged in response, said his goodbyes, and made his way in the same direction that Hop went. 

Once they were alone, Gloria turned to her brother with fire in her eyes. “So, wanna go get lunch together? There’s a lot I want to talk about!”

“Lunch? I thought you wanted me to help you decide on an outfit for-”

“That can wait until later! This is much more important.”

Before the champion could protest, Gloria took him by the hand and practically dragged him towards the Battle Café.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like to think that bede and gloria would be good friends. he's fun to tease and i like to think of him as a good wingman for both victor and gloria. 
> 
> im so sorry for teasing hop so much this chapter but the opportunity to give his pokemon at least some personality was too tempting to let pass up


End file.
